Mayerling

When the heir to the Hapsburg throne was found shot to death in that hunting lodge named Mayerling in 1889 a lot of the hopes and dreams of a future generation were blasted for all time. But the bigger tragedy was that Crown Prince Rudolf was such a weak vessel to support those hopes and dreams. In point of fact he was quite unstable, some like young psychiatrist Sigmund Freud practicing in Vienna might have called him mad.

It's the mad quality that Omar Sharif does capture in his portrayal of Crown Prince Rudolf. His companion in death was young Catherine Deneuve playing the minor league baroness who accompanied him in death. She's good, but she's a bit old for the part. Maria Vetsera was 24 in real life, possibly Mia Farrow might have been a better choice.

The sets and costumes and certainly the locations are as authentic as you can get. But Mayerling moves ponderously slow and sluggish. A better pace could have improved it.

James Mason and Ava Gardner play emperor Franz Josef and the Empress Elizabeth who was known as Sissi all her life. Her childhood name never left her because in many ways she was also as big a child as her son. The Emperor and Empress live apart for most of the year with Elizabeth jaunting about all over the continental hot spots. If Sharif wants to have his fling, he only has to look at mother who never settled down. In many ways Ava Gardner is the best one in the film, she's cast perfectly because she too never really settled down in life.

Also memorable is James Robertson Justice whose girth and and booming mirth made him be perfectly cast as Edward the Prince Of Wales who is also waiting to ascend to the throne of Great Britain and about whom many hopes are kindled even in the constitutional monarchy that the United Kingdom is. He's not exactly in the confidence of Queen Victoria, but he's learned to very cheerfully accept his fate and be patient. He was about 40 year patient and that's what Rudolf would have had to be as Franz Josef reigned until 1917. I'm surprised James Robertson Justice never played Bertie in a film about him, he was so right for the part.

Speculation has abounded for years about what drove the Archduke to do what he did. This impressive, but slow version of the story will feed the speculation of the movie going public and historians.

This movie is perhaps one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen-both literally and figuratively! I've never seen a more beautifully photographed movie. The use of location settings and outdoor photography is second to none. The costumes and settings show that the producers obviously didn't skimp on quality. They're breathtaking and almost rate their own review. Aesthetically I can't remember the last time I saw such a beautiful film. Dramatically it drags a bit at times but overall is a very compelling tale, made all the more poignant because it is based on events that actually took place. Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve are remarkable as the doomed lovers. Their final scene together, as they talk while she's falling asleep is magnificent. It's obvious why Deneuve has had such a love affair with the camera over the years. She's absolutely flawlessly photographed(no other woman with the exception of the late Sharon Tate even comes close). You can see why a man would be driven to give up an empire for her. As an added bonus the great Ava Gardner came out of semi-retirement to play Sharif's mother and gives this movie an added touch of class(not that it needed any more). If you're a fan of costume dramas or doomed love stories then this movie is for you. Quite simply it combines the best elements of both genres. A treat.

The dashing Omar Sharif was born to be a crown-prince, or at least look the part to perfection (is he of royal Egyptian blood?), while Catherine Deneuve takes your breath away in every scene she's in, most notably as they watch "Giselle" at the theater. An Oedipus complex is hinted at here, and I suppose not all sons (not even only sons!) kiss their mothers on the lips (or it could be an Austrian thing, who knows?). But given his lifestyle of high living, promiscuity and dalliances with radical politics, coupled by an addiction to morphine and the off-chance of insanity in the blood, I don't think the end was as bittersweet and romantic as the movie portrayed it to be. No doubt the prince was a depressed, politically-impotent man who saw no promise in a future which included a loveless marriage, a domineering father and a mother who was never there--no big deal to most, but this was an only child used to getting his way most of the time. I'm sure Maria Vetsera, practically a child in love for the first time, was only too flattered to have been chosen by the prince to die with him. All in the name of love, of course.

All modern historians agree that it was not the "impossible " love depicted in all Mayerling versions.No Rudolph did not throw away his empire for the love of Mary!He had at the time of his affair with baroness Vetsera other mistresses(the most famous was Mizzi Kaspar).Too bad for those who are still dreaming of romantic passion,but the harsh truth is that Rudolph was a jaded man,using morphine to relieve his sufferings .He was seriously ill,since he contracted a VD.Historian Jean-Paul Bled goes as far as to say he would not have outlived his father anyway(think that his father died in 1916!).Just before his death he was not physically the handsome man played by Omar Shariff anymore!As for Mary,she was seventeen (Deneuve was already too old in spite of her stunning beauty),and she did love Prince Rudolph,but she was too young to understand that she was used by her lover as a helping hand to die:Rudolph had already asked Mizzi(see above) to die with him because he was frightened to pass away ALONE.

Another scene is completely refuted by every earnest historian:during the ball in the German Embassy,Mary refuses to bow before Rudolph's wife Stephanie.Or ,absolutely nobody,among these who attended the reception,spoke

about it afterward.The only person who mentions it is Countess Marie Larish,who was not invited,and who was a very shady and perverse lady,who wrote a book called "my past" .And what a past!She was Empress Elisabeth's niece,child of a misalliance:Sissi's brother had married an actress.In the Mayerling saga ,she played a very bad part,that of a go-between(Genevieve Page in the movie)

The imperial couple reunited James Mason and Ava Gardner ,who were the leads in "Pandora and the flying Dutchman" (Lewin,1951),a treat for cinema buffs.The cinematography is dazzling,and at least the story was filmed where it took place.Francis Lai's score is nice too(Un Homme Et Une Femme,1966,love story,1970).The director ,Terence Young ,is the movies odd-job man:James Bond (Dr No,From Russia with love,thunderball),the amorous adventures of Moll Flanders,wait until dark,the Christmas tree,spy thriller,horror,melodrama,not a genius but a competent craftsman.

After Mayerling,the hunting lodge was razed to the ground and the emperor had a nunnery built on the site.Hence the necessity to film the last part in a studio.

Another scene completely made up from start to finish is the Deneuve /Gardner meeting.At the time ,Elisabeth had become the wandering empress she would remain until her death in 1898,nine years after the Mayerling tragedy.She used to shun Vienna,the Court ,the étiquette and even politics.But the movie is true for one thing:she was here when Rudolph died.Marie Larish(Genevieve Page),the go-between, was her protégée,but she would realize too late what a perverse creature she was.

Rudolph was a depressed man,who failed twice:politically,he was kept out of things by his father and his plots led to nowhere.He used to worry about the Monarchy's (actually a double one,Austrian and Hungarian since 1867)future and he dreamed of federalism and parliamentary democracy;besides,his marriage was on the rocks,his wife Stephanie(Andréa Parisy) being unable to give birth to another child. The opening scene is the only one which deals with politics:a student riot during which Rudolph is arrested by the police:once again,it's very implausible,since the Kronprinz's actions were watched day and night by Francis Joseph's henchmen.Even his numerous -and almost absent here ,to give the movie a romantic flavor-mistresses used to "help" police reports.

The best thing-one user noticed it- is Marie Larish's obnoxious behavior.Genevieve Page is remarkable,acting with Mary Vetsera like a spider with a fly,unbeknown-st to her mother (Mony Dalmes).

Outside Litvak's version ,already mentioned by some users,there's also Jean Delannoy's "le secret de Mayerling" (1949),with Jean Marais as Rudolph which has a rather good reputation,in spite of a weird ending:Bismarck was behind the lovers' assassination.Even stranger:when Zita,Austria's last empress ,came back from exile in the early eighties,she hinted at a political assassination as well.

Everyone agrees with this movie's virtues: its sets, costumes, and recreation of the era--all of which are impressively gorgeous. Kenneth Brannagh mentions that the look of the this film version influenced the setting/production design for his version of HAMLET (check out his audio commentary of the DVD, chap. 19). So MAYERLING has had its influence.

And, yes, quite a few of us recognize its shortcomings. Frankly, it doesn't possess the passion/romance one expects. Perhaps both Sharif and Deneuve are too intelligent to be believable for a romantic suicide, but whatever it is, somehow the oomph one hopes for is missing. Nevertheless, it's still fascinating, and while not as involving as the Boyer version, it's got more historical detail and background.

And yes it's worth comparing/contrasting with THE ILLUSIONIST.